Where do you wait to make a left turn?

I've known for years that it was illegal to wait in the middle of the intersection, though most people do it, including myself. I do try to stay behind, but I've also had people honk at me if I don't pull out further. I guess the reasoning is a lot of the time, the light will turn red while you are in the intersetion, thus by continuing your turn, you've also ran a red light.

At the stop line. One should not interfere with the crosswalk.

This.  I would not wait in the intersection nor the crosswalk. 

Sitting in the middle of an intersection can leave you running the red light if it turns while you're waiting, or being in the way if an emergency vehicle needs to get through. 

And since the crosswalks are located past the stop line, I automatically wouldn't be stopping in a crosswalk.

Our state law is unclear. When traffic is busy here, however, if you did not pull into the intersection, you would not turn. I have occasionally been in the left-turn lane behind someone who will not pull in, and they will wait five or six light cycles (with a lane of congestion building behind them) before someone loses it, honks at them, and they pull into the intersection.

We have a ton of lights where you have a yellow arrow and have to wait for a break in oncoming traffic, and then sometimes it will turn into a green arrow... I don't wait in the intersection it freaks me out when people do that when I'm the one going straight. I will get a chance to go eventually.

I was taught to do the wait in the intersection thing when I learned to drive though.

ETA: yesterday I was trying to make a right turn into the high school parking lot just as school was getting out.  There was enough space I could get the front of my car into the parking lot but the back would be blocking the sidewalk/crosswalk (and the mass of high school students walking that direction.)  Some jerk behind me started honking at me to move forward.  It's like the 5th time in two weeks I've been honked at for not blocking a crosswalk, not going the millisecond the light turned green, letting someone cross the street, waiting to turn left until the cars coming the other way were out of the way (not pulling into the intersection and waiting, waiting behind the crosswalk)  Apparently, my driving annoys people!  

ETA: I looked it up and it’s not legal to pull into the intersection waiting to turn left in Washington (where I live) or Oregon (where I learned to drive.)

If I have a green light and I’m waiting in the crosswalk there’s no interference. Any person trying to cross in that crosswalk would be walking into on coming traffic.

As for the question, I wait in both places depending on the traffic, intersection size and visibility of cross traffic.

This and wheels straight! That is in case you get hit from behind and won't be sent into oncoming traffic.

It all depends on if I think I have a decent chance of making the left turn before the light turns red. If I know I won’t, I stay by the crosswalk.

However, there is a left turn I have to make every day on the way home from work. It is against traffic coming straight to get on the highway. It is ALWAYS backed up. There is no green arrow. There is no green arrow ANYWHERE on that street (so it’s the same problem at every intersection.) You have to yield to oncoming traffic, which is bumper to bumper. So the only way to turn left is by waiting until the light turns yellow….or honestly….red….and then sneaking by when the oncoming traffic stops. Everybody does it….because it’s the only option. Our city needs to fix it.

It is illegal, BTW. My BFF failed her driving test by pulling out into the intersection and then getting caught on the red.

That’s good to know considering I do it every day! 

I was taught to wait behind the line for the crosswalk. However often I'm in busy intersections where once the oncoming cars clear there is only time for 1 or 2 cars to make a left before the light turns, so in those cases I will wait in the intersection so I have the best chance of getting to make my turn.

In New Zealand, it’s generally ok for one vehicle to wait in the intersection, but not for another one to pull up behind them - however we’re encouraged not to enter an intersection at all if we can’t immediately exit it.

Here’s the law that says you can’t wait within an intersection if there is already a car waiting there:
Clause 4.5(2) of the Land Transport (Road User) Rule 2004: Despite anything in Part 3, a driver approaching an intersection or an area controlled by traffic signals must not enter the intersection or controlled area if the driver’s intended passage or exit is blocked by stationary traffic.

I figured you had to be in California! I'd never seen that behavior until I went to California.

I pull into the intersection probably most of the time... it all depends really. But there are intersections in which if you don't pull out and there is no arrow, you'll never make it through.. My pet peeve are the ones that just sit there forever and not letting other cars make that turn and they are holding up traffic.

This driving tip once saved my life when we were rear ended.